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      05-01-2015, 03:32 PM   #1
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My X5 has a little over 4k on it and I have been driving it since Jan 7, 2015 so needless to say living in Seattle I notice these things when trying to enjoy the weather on my drives. This usually happens above 40 mph and onward to 70 as that's the limit

I have brought this up to my SA at BMW NW in Tacoma, WA. He stated he was going to submit a form to BMW NA stating that the shop foreman, himself, and I had taken my X5 out for an extending drive and this problem persisted. Then we also took the same X5 M Sport they had on the lot (35d and 50i) on an extended drive and resulted in the same issues my X5 was having.

So if you are having similar issues as the ones I have listed below please talk to your SA during your next service visit and make them take this note down in the system. As when BMW takes action on this issue your VIN will be one of the firsts to receive the fix if ever released by BMW.

1. Opening driver side window (US) results in a whistling noise which when using your hand as a buffer to the side mirror housing the whistle is eliminated.

2. Opening passenger side window (US) results in a whistling or thudding noise which when using your hand as a buffer to the side mirror housing the whistle and thudding is eliminated.

3. Opening panoramic sunroof to slide setting 1 the windscreen mesh lets in a whistling noise which when using a solid block of polyurethane (What older BMWs used to have) the whistling is eliminated.

4. Opening panoramic sunroof to slide setting 2 (Fully opened) the windscreen mesh whistle is still present, and the luggage cover starts to start thudding in the trunk in its closed position at a very high rate of speed as the vehicle is sped up and the noise level is so unbearable you cannot hear the passenger sitting besides you.

5. Opening rear windows all the way down produces a low pitch whistle/"wob wob wob" oscillating sound starting around 40mph that make you want to cut your ears off. -Matt's addition

My conclusions have been BMW's side mirror housings seem to be the main culprit for the front windows whistling and baffling wind. The sunroofs pop-up wind screen mesh needs to be the old styled plastic piece so no whistling will occur. Finally the luggage cover needs a stronger magnet or a latch so it is not to be shaken by wind when enjoying the weather of a beautiful day when in its closed position.

Taran.j

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      05-01-2015, 04:29 PM   #2
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Thank You!! This whistling issue is ruining the experience. My SA won't send in a PUMA, saying its too much work and I will need to bring my F15 in for the problem numerous times. I asked for BMWUSA to contact me but that has not happened either. Everything is super tight except for this whistle. Do the F85's have this issue? I am sending this post to my SA
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      05-01-2015, 05:12 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by puckybadger
Thank You!! This whistling issue is ruining the experience. My SA won't send in a PUMA, saying its too much work and I will need to bring my F15 in for the problem numerous times. I asked for BMWUSA to contact me but that has not happened either. Everything is super tight except for this whistle. Do the F85's have this issue? I am sending this post to my SA
PUMA, yes that is the document my SA also stated.

This is not a "forum" thing this is a true issue they need to address. Even the 2014 loaner non M sport they shuttled me back home in did the same thing. The driver didn't think it was fun but I wanted to quad-check my findings.
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      05-01-2015, 06:56 PM   #4
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TaranJ

5. Openning rear windows all the way down produces a low pitch whistle/"wob wob wob" oscillating sound starting around 40mph that make you want to cut your ears off.

Weatherguard makes removable window and sunroof wind deflectors that solve a lot of the problems in the 1-5 list. But they make the car look like a taxi in ___________.
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Last edited by MattBianco; 05-01-2015 at 07:16 PM..
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      05-01-2015, 06:58 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MattBianco
Taran.J

5. Openning rear windows all the way down produces a low pitch whistle/"wob wob wob" oscillating sound starting around 40mph that make you want to cut your ears off.

Weatherguard makes removable window and sunroof wind deflectors that solve a lot of the problems in the 1-5 list. But they make the car look like a taxi in ___________.
Will add to the top list

Thanks Matt
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      05-01-2015, 10:07 PM   #6
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Out of curiosity and as a quick test, have you tried retracting your side view mirrors as you drive or will the system not allow it?
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      05-01-2015, 10:13 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Red_Rover
Out of curiosity and as a quick test, have you tried retracting your side view mirrors as you drive or will the system not allow it?
System will not allow it over 30 mph, they will automatically open if closed as well.

It seems to stop if you funnel air with your hand by the housing, can't test it without getting in the way of the housing but I don't believe the cap would be be issue but the part that mounts to the door
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      05-01-2015, 10:58 PM   #8
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I am not an engineer but I play one at home ....at least being honest about it.

My guess is the more aerodynamic a shape is, the higher and more consistent the air pressure against its surface, and the less aerodynamic, the more likely you will have lower pressure against the surface (except first areas of contact) and areas of very hight and low pressures on its surface. It could well be the shape is well designed -when windows and roof are closed- but any opening, would cause the high pressure against the surface to be breached, funneling air in, and producing all kinds of sounds.

My poor kids have learned that as soon as we are over 35 mph, they have to roll up at least 3/4 up.
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      05-01-2015, 11:16 PM   #9
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So the X5M should not have this problem?
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      05-03-2015, 12:22 AM   #10
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      05-03-2015, 07:32 AM   #11
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I drove my X5 Msport yesterday to specifically try to produce situations where you are having wind nosies and I am not having any issues. No whistling and no fluttering (your video) from the rear. The luggage area sounds appear to be the cover? I believe we discussed this topic in your other thread.. I never drive with the cover opened.. it is always extended and closed. Have you tried driving with the cover closed and did it help?
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      05-03-2015, 08:07 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kzang
I drove my X5 Msport yesterday to specifically try to produce situations where you are having wind nosies and I am not having any issues. No whistling and no fluttering (your video) from the rear. The luggage area sounds appear to be the cover? I believe we discussed this topic in your other thread.. I never drive with the cover opened.. it is always extended and closed. Have you tried driving with the cover closed and did it help?
I have then there is no noise. Only reason I do not drive with cover extended is over time the cover starts to sag. The cover is sitting in my garage I just put it in yesterday to test it
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      05-03-2015, 11:13 AM   #13
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Really? I drove my E70 X5 for 3 years with it covered/closed and had no sagging issues.
By the way, just drove it with the cover open and no fluttering noises as well.


Sorry for not being of any help, but I find it interesting that some have this issue and apparently some don't. I wonder what the issue is?
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      05-03-2015, 11:25 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kzang
Really? I drove my E70 X5 for 3 years with it covered/closed and had no sagging issues.
By the way, just drove it with the cover open and no fluttering noises as well.


Sorry for not being of any help, but I find it interesting that some have this issue and apparently some don't. I wonder what the issue is?
Not sure but the 3, 2015 F15's we tested on the lot and mine all having the same issue it may be a specific 2015 M sport trim issue possibly.

Who knows but if we can get more opinions and members replying it could be a more widely known issue or odd occurrence in Seattle lol
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      05-03-2015, 06:41 PM   #15
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-I do get the whistling from the driver window.
-Also with the panoramic sunroof open and the cargo cover extended I get rattling.

Then there's the obvious helicopter whopping with sunroof open and all windows closed but I just crack the back window to stop it. Happens with Sunroof 1 above 77 kmph and Sunroof 2 above ~60 kmph. This problem I'm pretty sure is in every car with a sunroof.
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      05-04-2015, 09:39 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Taran.J View Post
I have the same issue. It appears to be what's known as a "sympathetic vibration". When I stop at a light and speed up again it is gone.
I also have the luggage cover out of the car.
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      05-24-2015, 11:29 AM   #17
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http://www.autoblog.com/2013/12/22/c...p-wind-thumpi/

Hopefully it will be as simple as this
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      05-24-2015, 11:59 AM   #18
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Ive experienced this on previous three X5's...as far back as the 2007 E70
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      05-25-2015, 12:06 AM   #19
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I hear it on my 35i and it's very annoying
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      05-25-2015, 10:31 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Joashstjean
I hear it on my 35i and it's very annoying
Please at your leisure ask your service advisor to fill out a PUMA for BMW NA to further pursue a remedy for this issue.
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      06-16-2015, 07:56 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MattBianco View Post
I am not an engineer but I play one at home ....at least being honest about it.

My guess is the more aerodynamic a shape is, the higher and more consistent the air pressure against its surface, and the less aerodynamic, the more likely you will have lower pressure against the surface (except first areas of contact) and areas of very hight and low pressures on its surface. It could well be the shape is well designed -when windows and roof are closed- but any opening, would cause the high pressure against the surface to be breached, funneling air in, and producing all kinds of sounds.

My poor kids have learned that as soon as we are over 35 mph, they have to roll up at least 3/4 up.
I'm sort of like Matt. I'm an engineer, just never got paid to do it.

Matt is right. What you're experiencing is the result of (believe it or not) emissions standards. In the quest to reach ever higher MPG, shapes had to be come more slippery through the air. When we were kids and everyone made their cars out of clay blocks and didn't give two damns about how much dino juice we used, this didn't matter. Moreover, it really wasn't possible to achieve without computers in a profit-motivated corporate setting. GM and BMW weren't building the SR-71.

The result was that cars had a very thick "boundary layer" of air around them. As a solid object moves through the air, some of the air around it becomes turbulent. In your mother's old Ford Country Squire, this is what happened to a lot of the air. The turbulence at the surface makes a nice pillowy, roiling cushion of air. In the better areas of flow (like over a hood, for example) the flow becomes laminar. The molecules closest to the car's surface stick to it, having near zero velocity, and these in turn slow down adjacent molecules for some distance from the surface. Far enough away, and the air moves at full velocity of the "free stream value."



The problem we see now is that car companies have computers and really amazing CAD software. They can wind-tunnel test on a desktop. So even a big barn-shaped car like the X5 is actually quite aerodynamic. More so than a sports car of 30 years ago. What that means is that the thickness of that boundary layer has been drastically reduced, which reduces drag and gives you better economy. It also means that when you open a window at speed, you're going to get buffeting. The air is becoming turbulent and fighting against the high-pressure air in the cabin. You encounter this alternating mix of your dense cabin air wanting to move out the open window, and the high-speed incursion of outside air. The result is "WUMP-WUMP-WUMP". You can prove this to yourself by opening the sunroof, waiting for the buffeting, and then opening your rear windows and hearing it go away.

Airflow around cars is fascinating. It's partly why the old "Ram Air" scoops are mostly show. They're stuck in the boundary layer, grabbing slow-moving air. Cowl induction, on the other hand, made great use of the slow, dense air that built up at the base of the windshield. Plenty of cool, dense charge air to be sucked in without all the road junk that comes with a forward-facing scoop.

So, while the whistle shouldn't be there per se, you're not going to get rid of the WUMPWUMPWUMP. That's life in the age of great aerodynamics.
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      06-16-2015, 08:58 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lowlevelhell View Post
I'm sort of like Matt. I'm an engineer, just never got paid to do it.

Matt is right. What you're experiencing is the result of (believe it or not) emissions standards. In the quest to reach ever higher MPG, shapes had to be come more slippery through the air. When we were kids and everyone made their cars out of clay blocks and didn't give two damns about how much dino juice we used, this didn't matter. Moreover, it really wasn't possible to achieve without computers in a profit-motivated corporate setting. GM and BMW weren't building the SR-71.

The result was that cars had a very thick "boundary layer" of air around them. As a solid object moves through the air, some of the air around it becomes turbulent. In your mother's old Ford Country Squire, this is what happened to a lot of the air. The turbulence at the surface makes a nice pillowy, roiling cushion of air. In the better areas of flow (like over a hood, for example) the flow becomes laminar. The molecules closest to the car's surface stick to it, having near zero velocity, and these in turn slow down adjacent molecules for some distance from the surface. Far enough away, and the air moves at full velocity of the "free stream value."



The problem we see now is that car companies have computers and really amazing CAD software. They can wind-tunnel test on a desktop. So even a big barn-shaped car like the X5 is actually quite aerodynamic. More so than a sports car of 30 years ago. What that means is that the thickness of that boundary layer has been drastically reduced, which reduces drag and gives you better economy. It also means that when you open a window at speed, you're going to get buffeting. The air is becoming turbulent and fighting against the high-pressure air in the cabin. You encounter this alternating mix of your dense cabin air wanting to move out the open window, and the high-speed incursion of outside air. The result is "WUMP-WUMP-WUMP". You can prove this to yourself by opening the sunroof, waiting for the buffeting, and then opening your rear windows and hearing it go away.

Airflow around cars is fascinating. It's partly why the old "Ram Air" scoops are mostly show. They're stuck in the boundary layer, grabbing slow-moving air. Cowl induction, on the other hand, made great use of the slow, dense air that built up at the base of the windshield. Plenty of cool, dense charge air to be sucked in without all the road junk that comes with a forward-facing scoop.

So, while the whistle shouldn't be there per se, you're not going to get rid of the WUMPWUMPWUMP. That's life in the age of great aerodynamics.
I did not want to hear this
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